By MARIANNE ALIREZA
Photographs by JODI COBB
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPHER
WOMEN
OF
SAUDI
ARABIA
Say to the believing
women, that they cast down
their eyes ... and reveal
not their adornment...
and let them cast their veils
over their bosoms....
KORAN, SURA XXIV: 31
VEILED TO ALL MEN beyond herfamily, a
young Bedouin woman wears the classic
face covering of her people. Given only pass
ing mention by the Koran, Islam's holy book,
the veil is an ancient custom traced to India
and Persia;it was adopted by Arabia's
nomadic tribes,which enforced a strictcode
of female modesty. The tradition lives on in
today's oil-richKingdom of Saudi Arabia
-a
male-dominated culture in which a man's
personaland family honor depends on the
conduct of females under his care.
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